Questions & Answers about Na semaforu čekáme, protože auta jedou rychle.
Why is it na semaforu? Doesn’t na usually mean on?
Yes, na often means on, but with places it can also mean at or by, depending on the expression.
So na semaforu is a natural Czech way to say at the traffic light. It does not mean someone is physically sitting on top of the traffic light.
In this sentence, na is used with the locative case, because it describes a location.
- semafor = traffic light
- na semaforu = at the traffic light
Czech often uses prepositions in ways that do not match English word-for-word.
Why does semafor change to semaforu?
Because after na in the meaning of location, Czech uses the locative case.
The dictionary form is:
- semafor
But after na when talking about being somewhere, it becomes:
- na semaforu
So the ending -u shows that semafor is in the locative singular.
What form is čekáme?